Director, Property Consultancy… at Architecture49 · Manchester

What if you could do the kind of work the world needs? At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

What if you could do the kind of work the world needs?

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

Help shape the future of healthcare estates across the North of England

WSP’s Health & Life Sciences Advisory team (HLSA) is growing. We are looking for an experienced Director to expand our Property Advisory offer across the North of England, building on our established healthcare expertise and helping clients make robust, evidence-led decisions about their estates. This is a senior, market-facing role for someone who can combine strategic property insight with strong commercial leadership. You will lead the development of new healthcare business opportunities across the NHS, independent healthcare and wider public sector, while strengthening WSP’s regional presence and deepening our relationships with clients and partners.

With more than 30 offices across the UK, including key northern hubs in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, WSP offers a strong platform to grow a regionally focused healthcare property advisory practice with national reach and multidisciplinary support.

Our Property Advisory team helps healthcare organisations unlock value, improve estate performance and make strategic, long-term investment decisions. We advise on estate strategy, asset and portfolio management, acquisitions, disposals, lease advisory, development appraisals, options analysis and complex property-led change.

We work at pace on targeted commissions and major multi-site estate programmes, bringing together property, healthcare planning, cost management, programme delivery, town planning, digital and sustainability expertise to solve complex estate challenges.

As Director, you will play a visible leadership role in shaping our northern growth strategy, generating pipeline, winning work, leading client relationships and supporting the development of a high-performing Property Advisory team. The role aligns to WSP Director-level expectations, with emphasis on strategic client impact, commercial growth, market positioning, portfolio leadership and people development.

A little more about your role…

• Lead the growth of WSP’s HLSA Property Advisory business across the North of England, identifying, shaping and converting new opportunities.
• Provide strategic property advice to healthcare clients, helping them align estate decisions with clinical, operational, financial and organisational objectives.
• Work alongside WSP’s multidisciplinary teams, including healthcare planning, cost management, project and programme management, town planning, sustainability and digital advisory.
• Advise on complex asset and portfolio management strategies that improve utilisation, release value, reduce risk and support long-term service resilience.
• Lead options appraisals, development strategies, commercial assessments and cashflow analysis to support investment, rationalisation and redevelopment decisions.
• Lead property transactions, including disposals, acquisitions, lettings, lease advisory and related client-side property negotiations.

You will bring the confidence, credibility and commercial focus expected of a senior Director, with the ability to grow a market, lead client relationships and shape high-quality advisory work.

• Take an active leadership role in growing the team, supporting colleagues, sharing knowledge and creating opportunities for others to develop.
• Deliver work commercially, managing scope, quality, programme, risk and profitability across commissions.
• Communicate clearly and persuasively through reports, proposals, presentations, workshops and senior client conversations.
• Promote collaboration across HLSA and the wider WSP business to create stronger, broader client propositions.
• Understand the wider commercial, strategic and reputational impact of your work, balancing client value with WSP’s growth objectives.
• Champion technical quality, robust governance and effective review across the work you lead.
• Engage confidently with senior stakeholders, including executive teams, estate directors, commercial leads, clinicians, public sector partners and investors.
• Demonstrate WSP’s values in the way you lead, collaborate, make decisions and represent the business.

What we will be looking for you to demonstrate…

• A strong track record in healthcare, public sector or specialist property advisory, ideally gained within a consultancy, client-side estate team or comparable advisory environment.
• Degree qualified, or equivalent, with a relevant professional qualification such as MRICS preferred.
• Excellent knowledge of property markets, healthcare estate drivers, public sector decision-making and wider economic and commercial trends.
• Strong client relationship, negotiation, networking and business development skills, with evidence of winning or growing work.
• Commercial confidence, sound judgement and the ability to manage priorities, risk and delivery across multiple client relationships and commissions.
• Experience leading, motivating and developing collaborative teams, with an inclusive and empowering leadership style.
• The ability to build capability in others, provide constructive feedback and foster long-term learning, collaboration and devolved leadership.
• An interest in how digital technologies, data and evidence-led insight can support estate optimisation, service redesign, investment planning and improved outcomes for healthcare clients.

Don’t quite meet all the criteria? Apply, and we can see how your experience aligns to this role and other opportunities within the team.

Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all.

Join our close-knit community of talented individuals who share your passion for making a positive impact. Our global team includes more than 69,000 employees, working together to make a difference in communities both close to home and around the world.

With us, you can. Apply today.

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About the Company

We are one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services firms. Our passionate people are united by the common purpose of creating positive, long-lasting impacts on the communities we serve through a culture of innovation, integrity, and inclusion. With over 11,000 professionals across the UK and Ireland, we are dedicated to our local communities and propelled by international brainpower.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

Work-life balance

At WSP, we understand that work is just one aspect of your life. It’s important to make time for you, your family, friends, interests and your community.

Our hybrid working policy offers the flexibility to work from home two days a week, while also providing opportunities to collaborate in our modern offices across the UK.

Inclusivity & Belonging

We welcome applicants with varied backgrounds and experiences. We enable rewarding careers by encouraging people to bring their whole and authentic selves to work so that our work represents the fullest spectrum of society. We celebrate integrity and treat people with respect, supporting each other and embracing a culture of inclusion and belonging at WSP. We have our employee resource groups bring together employees and allies with different backgrounds to promote a culture of inclusivity.

Health & Wellbeing

We are committed to supporting our people, giving you the tools to make improvements to your health and wellbeing through our Thrive programme.

Our Virtual GP service gives you access to an NHS or Irish Medical Council GP at a time and place that suits you – giving you peace of mind and quick access to medical advice when you need it most. We also provide reasonable workplace adjustments for those in need. Additionally, you can benefit from the Gymflex scheme, which offers up to 40% off annual gym memberships through our WSP flexible benefits program, as well as a comprehensive menopause support package.

Flex your time

To enhance work-life balance, WSP offers the “WSP My Hour,” allowing you to take one hour each day for personal activities, with the flexibility to make up the time earlier or later that day.

We also provide part-time and flexible working arrangements, the option to purchase additional leave, and the ability to use your bank holiday entitlement to suit you.

Your development

We understand the importance of development and training to you. That’s why we foster a supportive environment that invests in your growth, whether through training, mentoring, or Chartership.

#WeAreWSP

Here at WSP we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity. As a Disability Confident leader, we will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria, please let us know if you require any workplace adjustments in support of your application.